Arizona State football: Jalin Conyers named to preseason watch list

TEMPE, Ariz. — Jalin Conyers had a breakout season last year for Arizona State football. After a slow start to his sophomore season campaign, Conyers quickly turned things around. Now Conyers is getting national recognition. The tight end was named to the preseason John Mackey Award (best tight end) watchlist. He was also a Pac-12 preseason honorable mention selection by the coaches.

Jalin Conyers named to Mackey Award watch list

At the end of Arizona State football’s Week 7 matchup with Stanford, Conyers had only garnered eight total catches on the season and no touchdowns. He had struggled. There was competition at the tight end spot between him and Messiah Swinson, and he hadn’t gotten a ton of opportunity offensively.

All of that changed in ASU’s matchup with Colorado. Interim head coach at the time, Shaun Aguano had taken over offensive playcalling, and Conyers reaped the benefits. On a Saturday afternoon in Boulder, Colorado, Conyers had six catches for 108 yards and three touchdowns.

After that change of playcalling, Conyers increased production continued as the year came to a close. He finished his 2022 campaign with 38 receptions for 422 yards. He also hauled in five touchdowns on the year.

Since Conyers did that in less than half a season, expectations are high for Conyers in Tempe. An offseason video of Conyers in the weight room has only fueled his hype.

Due to Conyers’s performance late in the season, now even the national media is paying attention to Conyers. Being listed on the watch list for the Mackey Award is an honor. Some recent Mackey Award winners are Brock Bowers (2022), Kyle Pitts (2020), TJ Hockenson (2018), and Mark Andrews (2017). Could we see Conyers collect some hardware at the conclusion of this season?

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